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His daughter Abi said he was in a stable condition. She tweeted: "As news is starting to spread I can confirm my dad was taken into hospital late this morning, he is stable and that's all I can say for now."

Fellow Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis tweeted his best wishes for a “speed recovery” to Bannatyne.

He said he had been in contact with him, saying “he is well undergoing tests” and “does not think heart attack”.

Bannatyne, 63, was born in Clydebank, Scotland and raised in what he describes as “relatively modest circumstances”.

The former Royal Navy stoker founded a corporate empire after buying an ice cream van for £450 in Stockton-on-Tees with his first wife, later moving into areas including care homes, nurseries, health clubs and hotels.

He won fame as an investor on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den.

Bannatyne has received the OBE for his contribution to charity and is involved with Comic Relief, Unicef, and anti-smoking causes.

His website says that he sold his care home chain for £26 million inn 1996 and his children’s nursery chain for £22 million.